In the visiting clubhouse at Rogers Centre, the feeling was that this is one of 162. But oh what a juicy one it was.

We’ll get to Barry Zito, the turf, Brandon Belt, etc. in a second. But first, Melky Cabrera, because this is the first time he has spoken to Bay Area reporters since last summer’s suspension. Cabrera avoided the media before Tuesday’s game, but you have little chance to slip away after a four-hit game.

The game story covers his entire day, including the strange fact that he battered the Giants with a bat that was brought over from San Francisco this week. You might remember that Cabrera left San Francisco without packing his locker, or addressing teammates. Or apologizing. Why?

“When I heard the news, somebody told me it was better not to,” Cabrera said through a translator. “I would have liked to talk to the players, but somebody told me to leave.”

He wouldn’t elaborate, but he later made it hard to take what he said at face value, and it was pretty hard already. Asked an innocent question about his private ring exchange with Bruce Bochy, Cabrera said it was Bochy’s decision to give Cabrera the ring in a private tunnel between the clubhouses.

“Whatever he wanted to do,” Cabrera said.

Except that’s not what Bochy wanted to do. Last month he gave Nate Schierholtz his ring on the field and he had no problems doing the same for Cabrera on Tuesday. But a Blue Jays official approached a Giants official and said Cabrera wanted the exchange to be private, away from current and former teammates, reporters and cameras.
It’s not surprising, really. Not after the web site and the denials to members of the Giants organization right up until Cabrera was actually caught. A little weird, though.

— On to actual baseball …

Barry Zito had another very rough day on the road, something that is an early (small sample size) trend. He was charged with eight runs, five of them earned, and gave up 12 hits, his highest total since 2003. It’s the highest total by a Giants starter since Kevin Correia gave up 12 hits in 2008. (Weirdly, the Giants won that game.)

Zito has made three road starts and given up 23 runs, although only 15 of them have been earned. He felt that me made some good pitches that were hit where the Giants weren’t.

“They hit a fair amount of my pitches tonight,” he said. “When they hit the pitches you make and it’s a good pitch, sometimes you go back and think you’ve got to sequence them differently.”

It was a rough day at the office, but there was one huuuuge positive. Bochy had Chad Gaudin ready to go in the first inning and Zito is probably pulled with just two outs if Jose Bautista’s liner finds a hole, not Pablo Sandoval’s glove.

“The luxury of the American League is we don’t have to deal with our spot coming up,” Zito said. “Usually you get taken out after you hit your pitch count.”

He got to 101 pitches and 5 2/3 innings, saving a bullpen that has been taxed plenty this season and was looking at having to pitch pretty much a whole game on the first day of a six-game trip that includes four at Coors Field.

— How do you deal with R.A. Dickey’s knuckleball? If you’re Brandon Belt, you hit a fastball. Belt got a rare “heater” and hit a solo homer, giving him homers in back-to-back games for the third time in his career. He later had an RBI double.

“You just kind of see the ball get deep,” Belt said of his approach.

It was an ugly night at the plate for most Giants and a rough one in the field. The Giants infielders struggled to catch up to grounders and get the ball out of their gloves. The outfielders struggled with their jumps and there were some poor reads on hard-hit balls. But Belt had a pretty smooth day on the turf.

“I’ve played on it in college, so I had an idea of what was going to happen,” he said. “It’s nothing too bad that you can’t overcome, but it’s a little difficult at first.”

Bochy said it usually takes one or two days to get used to the speed of the turf. The Giants have just one more game here, so the adjustment needs to come quickly.

— Marco Scutaro extended his hitting streak to 13 games and has multiple hits in nine of the last 10. That’s NLCS Scutaro, right there. He has raised his average from .215 to .315 during the streak.

— The rough thing about that first inning: It created a hole that even Pablo Sandoval’s big swing couldn’t get the Giants out of. Sandoval hit his seventh homer, tying Hunter Pence’s team-leading total.

— Bochy said Santiago Casilla is available and likes his new knee brace. Also, if you were wondering about Pagan leaving early, Bochy said the leadoff hitter feels fine. Buster Posey was pulled early, too.

— If you’re even thinking about pointing out a spelling mistake somewhere above, remember: I’m in Canada!

— Finally, Jonathan Sanchez. ESPN’s Pedro Gomez reported that the left-hander is close to a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

On a night when the Giants gave up 18 hits and also struck out 15 times for the first time in their recorded history, take solace in the fact that you’re not reading rumors about your favorite team signing a player who was released last month with an ERA of 11.85.

Melky Cabrera definitely plays the game hard, tries hard, works hard, etc. He has a great approach at the plate and is fun to watch when his game is on. I have no idea why in the world he thought he could get away with that website excuse, but it’s more of a laugher than a reason to vilify him. While I can’t say I actively root for him I certainly wish him well.

If I believed his drug use was an anomaly in the sport I might feel differently about him, maybe want to assault his character or call him a “cheater”. Unfortunately I’m in the camp that thinks he was just doing what everyone does, had a lapse in concentration and forgot to cover his tracks, and got caught. Bummer for him.

On KNBR, Marty brought up the dreaded spectacle of the DH coming to the NL. The theory is that daily interleague play is going to lead for a press to standardize. Well, if that’s a valid premise, then I say less interleague. Go back to 14 teams in one league and 16 in the other. Or, do what the NFL does: have 32 teams. Pick any two cities with the right location, baseball interest, finances and go. Possible candidates in the West: Portland, Vancouver, Honolulu, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio. In the East: Charlotte, Buffalo, Montreal, New York, San Juan. All these places have baseball history, and NY has had 3 teams before. Believe it or not, Honolulu was once in PCL. So, c’mon, a Giants’ roadie to the islands! Or pick somewhere more practical; fine. The point is, it could happen. But if not, then dial it back to 14/16. Please, the daily dose of interleague is over the top, especially if it leads to the DH in the NL.

Johnathan Sanchez will throw a near perfect game against the Padres this year, only an error by Juan Uribe and being assaulted by Carlos Queintin because of his pinpoint control will prevent it.

I don’t see why any of the Giants players have beef with Melky, he helped them win some games and they went on to win the WS without him. Had he not been caught for the testerone levels he would have been extended to a BJ Upton like contract and produced similar results, so at the end of the day the Giants dodged a bullet.

Haha. Alex meant his headline (“defence”), not Rogers “Centre” as far as his Canadian spelling. Took me a minute, eh?

So all the beat writers are reporting that Melky’s a lying lieface liar. I guess we already knew that.

The way Baggarly wrote up Zito’s “pitch sequence” comment suggested that he was throwing Buster under the bus. Baggs even said he wouldn’t be surprised if GQ catches Zito next time. We all know Baggs can be a s**t-stirrer. I’d be disappointed in Zito, who has a reputation as a great teammate, if it were true.

Zito gave up a lot of hits and walks tonight, and did you see the Blue Jays’ lineup? The batting averages were abysmal–at least three guys under .200. It can’t all be Buster’s fault, right? Zito’s the one who actually threw the cookies. Why can’t you just chalk it up to a bad night–Phil Cuzzi, lousy defence, Melky’s magic bat–and move on?

Zito better watch out. He’s said he’d like to stay with the Giants after this year. Ain’t gonna happen if he’s bad-mouthing Buster Ballgame. I’m not saying he was because…consider the source. But if he was–

Thank God ! Go get Sanchez, Colletti ! You’ll learn a hell of a lesson after about his third or fourth start ! This young man had so much potential, but the majority of times I watched him at AT & T he always had moments when he’d lose his concentration and implode into walking practically everyone and his brother in the lineup.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I feel sorry for Dodgers’ fans. They suffered through the McCourt soap opera, and now their team’s well under .500, decimated by injuries, and in last place.

So Agent Ned thinks the answer is Jonathan Sanchez? No fan base deserves to suffer that much, not even Dodger fans. They should get out their pitchforks and torches and go storm Chavez Latrine and say “Enough is enough! Power to the people!”

And finally, the one thing I am always so impressed with is the calm demanor our Hall of Fame manager shows in the game, even when they’re getting rocked 10-2. Boch never acts to me when the camera pans in on him that he gets the least bit excited. What a thrill it is to watch this guy when everyone else in the media and to people who comment unfavorably about him runs him down. I hope Boch stays around for many more years to come !

Considering the speed of that Toronto infield, I would strongly recommend that Vogey pitch for the strike out when opportunities present themselves. Not a friendly place for those that pitch to contact. RAD’s ERA is over 6 at home.

Enough Barry Zito #2 pitcher garbage. Zito is a serviceable #4 at home where it’s VERY hard for hitters to hit a HR And on the road he’s a AAA or AA pitcher. The road starts for Zito have been terrible. And he should have been charged with a bunch more runs if not for his error in 1 game and his inability to pitch around defesnive errors that happen occasionally. Zito is simply benefiting more than any other NL pitcher from having a lot of ropes and seeds stay in the park at at&t whereas on the road he’s toast. Please do not sign him in 2014. Shake his hand for the ’12 playoff rescue in the LCS And WS Game 1 and send his packing. 13 million can easily sign a legit good starter.

I like interleague. It adds interest to the game and cultivates rivalries. The games with the A’s are very intriguing every year. With revenues rolling in, I could see expansion of 2 teams fairly soon. Honolulu will never get a team. Each team would need to fly 5 hours to the island from the West Coast. Won’t happen.

I think Portland, OR Will get a team eventually and that team will own Oregon and part of Idaho a la the Rockies do in Colorado and Wyoming. Salt Lake City is a possibility too. San Antonio makes a lot of sense to get a 3rd team in TX. The A’s should move to Sacramento where they’d draw better than in Oakland.

I think Charlotte and San Juan, PR are the best Eastern expansion options.

The guy no hablos English right? Maybe the translator botched it, I remember Pagan translating for him on a CSN post game interview and Pagan really rushed his words when he related them. (Like Melky would give like a 50 word answer and Pagan would answer with some ridiculously short).

Here’s one for the General Managers on the blog: Cliff Lee for Brandon Belt. The Philies would do that in a heartbeat just for salary relief. They nearly gave him away on waivers last year. The Phils need a first baseman. Ryan Howard has been below replacement level for two seasons. Trouble is, Lee is owed around 100 mil still. So how much should the Phils chip in on the deal. I would say at least 30 mil.

I thought Zito had actually pretty decent stuff today. He didn’t look flat today like sometimes he does when he lays stinkers. I would really have liked to see what happened if Pablo doesn’t make that error or if they turn that double play. He kept them off the board for 5 more innings almost. And WOJ he didn’t give up a HR and not many balls were hit very hard. A few were but nothing close to a HR. But i do agree with you that the Giants would be wrong to resign him for 13 mil a year or let that option vest unless they have no choice. If they bring Zito back it has to be a 1 year deal otherwise it is a bad deal. But to me Zito is pitching well this year. It is more than just road and home games. That being said hopefully the Giants don’t sign him to a multi year deal though.

It will be a sad sad day for me if the NL ever uses the DH. I am starting to lose faith in humanity. I dont want to say i would stop watching baseball but i would really want to hate MLB if it ever happened. The thought makes me sick.

Melky looked exactly like he looked when he played for us. He has not hit like that while he has been playing for the Jays this year for the most part. That is the player the Jays thought they were getting. Not sure how to explain it but he hit the ball really well and every time i saw it i got angrier and angrier.

Yeah Sam, I”m so glad you’re on the ball. I might have been up all night worrying about the typos; wondering if anyone noticed. Didn’t anyone notice the typos? Why isn’t anyone saying anything? DON’T YOU PEOPLE SEE THOSE TYPOS?!!!!!!

I’m with you Doughnut, I would hate to stop rooting for the Giants but I may have to protest and stop following baseball if the DH came to the NL. I really love NL games, the pace is somehow more pleasing. DH ball seem soulless somehow. Nine on nine I say. Not nine on ten.

You mean the HOF Manager who gave Belt a 1 on 1 batting practice with Belt hitting up a storm ever since? Time to give the ridiculous notion that Bochy is the root of all of Brandon Belt’s problems a rest.

Peanut
Soulless is a good word. Its a symbol of everything that is wrong with the world. People want more action, more pictures, more explosions on TV and they want less strategy, less plot, less thinking. It is sad. The strategy involved when pitchers hit is what makes things great and it is fun to watch how different pitchers and teams attack those situations.

Yesterdays loss was pretty bad but going into this pointless two game east coast trip i felt like a split would be more than okay. So if Vogelsong can find a really good enchilada joint and somehow the Giants can pull out a victory everything is forgotten from yesterday. A loss will hurt pretty good on the other hand. Especially knowing we have to play Colorado for 4 in altitude after a cross country red eye flight. Turns into a somewhat big game.

Wow, Melky: what an idiot. This guy went from cult hero and team MVP to pariah due to his decision to cheat and potentially sabotage his team. His awkward departure could have been devastating, but it was not due to the inner strength and resolve of our TEAM. That’s Buster, Cainer and a bunch of other players, but it all starts with Bochy.

Now we have this ugly scenario with the ring ceremony and more lies from Melky. Not to be ugly, but Melky has been in the major leagues since 2006–shouldn’t he understand English well enough to speak for himself? Seems to me the real issue is lack of intelligence, not to mention serious character deficiency.

Saw a great piece on E:60/ESPN last night about Landon Powell and his family. Most of us remember Powell from his days with the A’s. The piece detailed the story of the death of his four month old infant daughter from a genetic illness. This story is heartbreaking yet also uplifting and inspirational, given the fight for life exhibited by this baby and the strength of Landon, his wife and his family.

Excellent reporting–if you have a chance to watch I highly suggest you do so. Same E:60 episode had great stories on baseball for vision-impaired players, Mo Cheeks’ inspirational assist to the 13-year old who struggled with the national anthem, and a repeat airing of the ESPN piece on the 23 MLB perfect games. Very entertaining.

Saw a great piece on E:60/ESPN last night about Landon Powell and his family. Most of us remember Powell from his days with the A’s. The piece detailed the story of the death of his four month old infant daughter from a genetic illness. This story is heartbreaking yet also uplifting and inspirational, given the fight for life exhibited by this baby and the strength of Landon, his wife and his family.

Excellent reporting–if you have a chance to watch I highly suggest you do so. Same E:60 episode had great stories on baseball for vision-impaired players, Mo Cheeks’ inspirational a$$ist to the 13-year old who struggled with the national anthem, and a repeat airing of the ESPN piece on the 23 MLB perfect games. Very entertaining.

I get the angst from you all regarding the DH, and I completely agree in theory. I love the strategy involved in pitching changes, double switches, pinch-hitters, etc. Not to mention the game is supposed to be nine vs. nine, as noted by another poster above. NL baseball is preferable and more entertaining vs. AL, IMHO.

All that being said, the proverbial horse is out of the stable. the DH is now in its 41st year of existence in the AL, and most every minor league team uses it every day as well. MLB players lobbied hard for 15/15 vs. 16/14, apparently feeling the six-team NL Central made it too hard for those teams to make the playoffs, and too easy for those in the four-team AL West.

Once they fully realize that full-time DH means 15 additional jobs for MLB veterans, it’s a done deal. NL managers will also quickly learn how to use the DH for “half-days off” and to lengthen their lineup. Won’t really matter what we the fans have to say. Sad but true, IMHO.

Donnie Baseball lets Kershaw throw 132 pitches in the Dodgers 2-0 win. No confidence in that stellar bullpen (sarcasm intended)? Giving in to the player’s desire vs. what’s best for the team? Not paying attention?

132 pitches for a stud pitcher like Kershaw in Mid-May? Not too big of a deal. Pumping fastballs out of the windup shouldn’t take too much of a toll on The Game’s Best Pitcher. Ask the old timers from Feller to Marichal, Gibson, to Ryan, etc.

Greinke set to rejoin rotation – tonight. Dodgers ONLY 6.5 back. Heard they lead the NL in OBP, but are next to last in runs scored. This could mean runs are coming for them.

===

Walter,

I’ll play. Phillies have Howard through 2016. So they are not really in the market for a 1B. Cliff Lee is now owed less than 75 million (prorated portion of this season). Seems more like somebody the Dodgers will trade for. I’d trade for Chase Utley, but hard to make that one work as well. He’s another Dodger target.

But Brandon Belt’s value is certainly on the rise; for the Giants and for other teams that want to kick tires.

===

VamosGigantes,

Unbalanced schedule and division stinks too. But if I were to narrow down the cities from your list, I’d select Portland, San Antonio, San Juan and Charlotte. There is a way to make it work with 32 teams though. Wasn’t that long ago that each league had two divisions – West and East. You know how basketball works, so some sort of seeding would be in play. Division winners with a bye. Top Wild card plays the winner of a play in wild card. Something like that. 32 teams would mean more talent dilution though. Ain’t happening.

DH in one league and not in the other is flavor. AL fans are pretty much over it and attend their teams’ games.

===

Melky : he’s human and fallible. He’s shy, probably doesn’t process language that well, doesn’t make good decisions; but when he’s on his game, he’s a good ballplayer.

What was that about with Posey? That’s quite a grudge to hold. We should all let it rest.

===

Picking up the 7 – 10 split today would be a feat. Not an ideal place for Vogelsong to get in gear, but the universe works in mysterious ways.

It seems clear that Melky lied about the ring “ceremony” yesterday. It’s not that complicated of a translation to say “It was Bochy’s idea that I get the ring in private.” The two versions of the story are in direct competition, and someone’s lying. I vote for the guy who lied to everyone about his failed PED test and set up a phony web site to cover it up. Why he bothered to lie about this, I have no idea. Maybe he can’t help himself.

As much air play as this little incident is getting, any chance that Melky’s reception at AT & T might be “mixed” is slipping away. I predict long, loud boos.

I expected Belt’s average to climb–last year he started out low and ended up at .275–but I’m encouraged by the power numbers. Last year he didn’t hit one homer until the middle of June and only 7 for the year. It’s the middle of May and he already has five, on pace for 20 now.

It suggests that the power we saw during his rookie year (nine homers in around 180 ABs) might have been for real. And unlike what one commenter likes to say about that year, this year Belt’s homers are off Ian Kennedy, David Hernandez, J.J. Putz, Kris Medlen, and RAD. Real major league pitchers, not AAA guys up on the Rockies in September.

I agree B Belt’s power is coming around. It does take time for young players. But one thing i am not going to do is think that the light has finally turned on for Belt (even though that is what it looks like) because every time i think he has arrived he goes into a funk where his ABs deteriorate. Hopefully that is not the case here. When he is right he can be a major threat and a presence in the lineup. I think Brett Pill getting called up is the best thing that could have happened for him.

Shouldn’t this game be a day game? Toronto has the next day off and we have to fly to Colorado and play the next day. Seems kind of cruel to make this a night game.

Let’s just say thanks for being a good Giant and move foward…No way I pay him 10+ million dollars. He is what he is..a mediocre pitcher.

If I hear Krukow say “Zito can pitch 10 more years” one more time, I’m going to grab Krukow through the radio and smack him.. I hope he can pitch for 10 more years…just not with the Giants…

Big No on Cliff Lee for Brandon Belt…CL is too old and cost 75 million ..and BB is 25 and trending upward. Besides the money needs to go to Pablo and Pence and development of young players… I’m for old guys only if they come cheap.

Melky—I have no ill feelings for him..good luck compadre. But maybe there are reasons why he’s 30 and been on 5 teams already…

Vamos, another big NO here on the notion of DH in the NL. Honolulu would be a great choice for MBL expansion. The islanders are sports fanatics but don’t have much more than the ‘Bows and high schools teams to root for. An NL team playing with Diamond Head over the left field fence and the Koolau range over the right might put a challenge to AT&T for most scenic park.

Bochy: “It was brief,” the manager said. “He was thankful. He was excited to get the ring. I thanked him for his contributions. He was a big part of our team. He was a good teammate with us. He played hard every day. It’s unfortunate what happened. We all make mistakes. But he was a good guy to have on the club. I’m glad he has a job here with the Blue Jays. We’re grateful for all he did for us.”

Jr, on Kontos … I’m not Krukow, but let me justt say that he looks out of whack mechanically. His motion seems to be jerky and violent, not as smooth as it was in ST and earlier in the year. Probably pressing and might need some time in the minors to get his head straight.

Ryan: good posts on my posts and other stuff. Good info, enjoyable read. Hope you get to see that E:60 piece.

I might have been too tough on Melky, but as usual Lefty says it best. He should have more respect for the Giants and Bruce Bochy. I do have to say watching Melky slash the ball and attack the game brought back good memories from early last year.

Woj and the wine lady will likely be among those singing Zito praises when he puts up another seven-inning, 3-4 hit AT&T victory sometime in June. No doubt he’s better at AT&T: the place we play half our games.

When setting aside emotion and history, and looking strictly at the today’s starting pitching market, Zito would be an acceptable 3rd/4th starter at $13MM, which is the additional salary the Giants would have to budget (if Zito reaches 200 IP this year, which looks like a good possibility). Our vaunted young starting pitching looks like it won’t be ready for MLB rotation by ’14. A bird in the hand might make sense. Not saying we couldn’t do better, just being pragmatic.

I had the same thought on day game today. That has to be Toronto insisting on an evening audience. MLB should take control of this and insist on start times that make sense all things considered. Won’t happen when Uncle Bud and his friends decide to put cash flow ahead of common sense. Maybe under a new regime things can change.

Slide Dog: good take on Kontos. His spot in the pen has to be somewhat tentative, especially if Runzler or Hembree are ready. My gut says both of those guys are soon to be regular MLB bullpen pitchers, and hopefully it’s with us. Could also be currency for trades, but I think we have a lot of patience invested in both of them. I’d like to see them in the Orange & Black.

“When they hit the pitches you want to make, and it’s a good pitch, you look back and think, ‘Maybe it’s got to be better sequences.’ You’ve got to sequence them differently.”

——————————————–
Hmmm….

Seems to me that Zito is simply stating a fact, and thinking about how to improve his game.

It is Baggs, himself, who has inserted the thought/words that Buster is at fault. It’s the ‘ole…”tell ’em what they think” jazz.

Not buyin it.

@SCJ, you are the wiser, as are most on this blog.

Oh, and interesting…Baggs tries to connect last year’s comments (Zito) to this years, “after a rough start.” Well, what about Zito’s horrible start in MIL this year? That’s the more recent example, so why didn’t Baggs refer to that rough start instead of one over a year ago?

We ALL know it doesn’t matter if one “played the game” – but nevertheless is does matter if one is such a complete TOOL as a writer that he continues to inject stupid and worthless cloud thoughts that didn’t even graze anybody else’s intellect.

There in may be the rub. Intellect. Baggs loves TMZ type hit pieces on people. Huff, Huff and Huff. He had a chance to do a followup on how Melky first reacted to him when he broke the story but nope – had to go all Walter Mitty and invent something that’s not there.

Baggarly is a professional who has been around clubhouses a long-time. He could be wrong with who Zito was criticizing, i.e. himself or Posey, but unless Baggs comes out and says he’s was wrong, I’m going to believe he has enough experience and nuance to interpret things correctly. Of course, I’ve criticized Posey’s pitch sequences/selection in the past, so I’m predisposed to believe Baggarly got it right.

I think Posey would do well to start playing golf – where he will learn to avoid the big miss. Golf is not so much about perfect ball placement as much as it is about where you cannot hit the ball.

Right: Alex had the same quote from Zito (above) but didn’t use it to start/continue a rumor that Zito has problems with Buster. As I said last night, Baggs went as far as suggesting that Quiroz would catch Zito next time.

So Krukow called Baggs out on that? Good for him.

The two most important starts of Zito’s time with the Giants–and maybe his entire career–were Game 5 of the NLCS and Game 1 of the World Series. And I’m pretty sure Buster was behind the plate for both of those. Nothing to see here; move on.
—————————-

Since Baggs left the merc, I’ve seen two main criticisms of him: he’s become a lackey of the Giants, and he’s become a ‘tabloid’ journalist – used in a mutually exclusive context. When you write things outside of what people are emotionally/intellectually capable of accepting that’s the kind of criticism you get.

Krukow is vastly simplifying things in order to discredit Baggarly’s report. And that’s ok – when you disagree with something it is quite effective to put things in terms the average person can understand without muddying the point by bringing up the more complex but more valid reality.

I just heard Larry Kruger make the point I made, Baggarly is too experienced and professional to have naively misinterpreted Zito’s comment – the keyword being ‘naively’. Of course, that doesn’t mean Baggs’ interpretation is correct.

Ya, E-B. rule out altitude, as Bapah noted. Toronto is on the downstream side of Niagra Falls, which is below Buffalo, NY. Toronto = Detroit, Cleveland, etc. could probably rule out dry weather too. We could just say it was sloppy play on a plastic field, I’d guess.

As for Peter – your comments seen more geared to stirring up stuff than adding to this (non) issue. If KNBR wants to make this a big deal, let em.

Melky circled yesterday’s and today’s games. Make no mistake, Melk is highly motivated. Let’s be honest, to say he was p/oed the Giants left him off playoff roster would be an understatement and cost him some $$.

Melky needs a better agent: Of course Melky lied about the ring “ceremony” happening in the bowels of the Rogers Center being Bochy’s idea. Cmon Melk – more lies?!

But to anyone jilted by a former employer before it makes total sense.
Melky he did not want the media/SF fans/ SF brass to get any sense all was well or water under bridge.

If I’m Melky’s agent – I would have told him to finally finally be honest and direct and say publicly …
The Giants may think all this is water under bridge but I don’t.
Fact – I was a huge part of that team – I helped the Giants win the division. And Unlike Nate, I didn’t want to give Giants satisfaction of glad handing me in public and singing a fake kumbaya together.
Finally, thanks for bringing me my old bats and WS ring. Much appreciated. Glad to have both.

Post game… Take the mostly high road. I was really motivated today and glad to perform so well and gather 4 hits. I was glad to help my team win much like I did last year.

In the interest of fairness and accuracy, my quote attributed to Pretty Boy Floyd was actually from B Dylan quoting Woodie Guthrie who was referring to Pretty Boy Floyd in a song of that name. But the relevance to this discussion(?) remains. So cut away, folks..

Zito had an extended period where he performed marketly better by throwing to a backstop not named Buster Posey. Up until August of last year Hector Sanchez had been his caddy for 2 seasons with more success than Buster. Many of us here on the board have mentioned in the past that you have to pitch Zito differently than everyone else on the staff due to his repetoire. I do find it interesting, that as soon as Hector goes back down that Buster’s pitch sequences in calling a Zito game get questioned. How much pre-game planning did Hector perhaps help Buster in schemeing a Zito game plan? Food for thought……

We give Buster lots of credit when he calls a good game for Timmy two days earlier, why shouldn’t the contrapositive also be true? Why can’t Buster get blame when things go poorly? He is either responsible or he isn’t. Buster can’t sloely get the praise for a good outing and the pirtcher soley recieve blame when he gets shelled.

Listen to Zito’s quote….

“They hit a fair amount of my pitches tonight,” he said. “When they hit the pitches you make and it’s a good pitch, sometimes you go back and think you’ve got to sequence them differently.”

So was Zito throwing to his target or missing his spots? If he’s pelting Posey’s glove and getting shelled there maybe something to the Buster had a brain fart. If Zito is all over the place, can’t get the duece over for a strike, loses count leverage and gets shelled that’s Zito not doing his job. I didn’t watch the game, so I dunno.

IMHO, Zito was being openly and honest about evaluating his performance, and I do not think he was trying to overly stir the pot and point blame at Posey. I think, as some posters have mentioned, he was being analytical and trying to figure out how he and Buster should approach the next lineup.

Where Baggs crossed the line and is rousing the rabble by bringing Quiroz into the conversation and suggestion that Zito was calling for a new catcher. That’s bush in my opinion, but maybe he knows something we don’t. “Junevano”. I mean Zito has always liked throwing to Venezuelans ot at least since since 2002 when he won his Cy throwing to Ramon Hernandez….

I would like to see a non-biased, semi-objective analysis of the behind the plate performance of Major League catchers. This would include, receiving, ball blocking, throwing to bases, pitch calling/pitcher handling.

I assume Yadier Molina would come out on top and Buster Posey would be shortly behind. But maybe not. Maybe Buster has more room for growth than the hometown crowd imagines.

I would like to see a non-biased, semi-objective analysis of the behind the plate performance of Major League catchers. This would include, receiving, ball blocking, throwing to bases, pitch calling/pitcher handling.

I a$sume Yadier Molina would come out on top and Buster Posey would be shortly behind. But maybe not. Maybe Buster has more room for growth than the hometown crowd imagines.

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PS – can we finally get that team of monkeys at the Merc IT desk to fix this silliness. Come on! Twas the best of times, twas the blurst of times. Doh, stupid monkeys!

The location of pitch called is a biproduct of human element/error. We all know its not a video game. Our HS Catchers call pitch and location with their finger system but the actual arrival location is the sole capacity of the pitchers abilities on that day.

In dealing with the team’s personalities, Baggarly is pulling from an experience base none of the rest of us have, but, sure, that doesn’t mean he’s correct. After all, he can be experienced, professional, and wrong. It happens – I don’t see a need to attack his credibility. As for the Quiroz catching Zito next time, Baggarly extrapolating from his assumptions is pretty common – he calls it correctly quite often.

Some of the Giants hitters seemed over anxious against Dickey last night, swinging at knucklers that were out of the strike zone. The hitters who did the best were those who waited until Dickey got behind in the count and threw a 80 mph fast ball. I don’t believe any hitter got a hit off the knuckler all game.

Zito is not an ace and will have good games and bad games all year long. He was hit hard last night but did not get much help from his defense. Blue Jays had a HUGE home field advantage and will tonight as well.

BTW, my initial thought on the first inning was to question the pitch execution, when that looked right, I questioned the advanced scouting.

The two areas where I think Buster needs work: minimizing the damage when the pitcher isn’t executing his pitches by ensuring the miss isn’t in a fat part of the plate, and mixing things up when the scouting report looks wrong.

As I recall, Zito was specifically paired with Hector Sanchez from Day 1 last year for two reasons: (1) he’d worked with Hector in the minors during rehab starts in 2011 and (2) it gave Buster a regular day off when returning from his ankle injury.

Let’s also not forget that going into 2012, Zito was BY FAR the biggest question mark in the rotation. Though Lincecum turned out to be the weak link, he had finished 5th in ERA and 6th in CY voting in 2011. Zito had an injury-marred 2011 and a terrible 2012 spring. So if the principle is “the fifth starter gets the backup catcher because you’re probably going to lose that day anyway,” that’s another reason why Zito drew Hector.

However, as I mentioned above, it was Buster, not Hector, behind the plate when Zito had his two heroic postseason starts. (The third one where Zito didn’t make it out of the third inning in Cincinnati? That was Hector.) Zito has also had some great starts in 2013, and Buster has caught him every single time, good or bad.

I’m not saying that Buster isn’t still learning as a major league catcher or that he and Zito can’t improve on their shared game plan. But I don’t buy for a minute that Zito can’t work with Buster, any more than I ever bought it about Lincecum.

Here’s how the beat writers characterized Zito’s quote. You will note that Baggarly said a lot more than Schulman or Pavlovic did, though they obviously all heard the same thing. You be the judge.
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Schulman, SF Chronicle/Splash: Zito said the Blue Jays mostly hit “his” pitches, but perhaps he needed to “sequence” them differently.

Pavlovic, SJMN/Giants Extra: “They hit a fair amount of my pitches tonight,” he said. “When they hit the pitches you make and it’s a good pitch, sometimes you go back and think you’ve got to sequence them differently.”

MLB.com (Chris Toman): Zito’s quote about “sequence” not mentioned.

Baggarly, CSN Bay Area:
The ugliness continued after the game, when Zito left the impression – or tire marks, you choose – that catcher Buster Posey wasn’t calling the right pitches.

“They hit a fair amount of pitches tonight,” said Zito, after the Blue Jays teed off for a .444 average in 5 2/3 innings. “It’s probably a (matter) of throwing a better pitch, a better selection maybe.

“When they hit the pitches you want to make, and it’s a good pitch, you look back and think, ‘Maybe it’s got to be better sequences.’ You’ve got to sequence them differently.”

This isn’t the first time Zito has questioned pitch sequences after a rough start. He did it in Houston last year, too.

So clip and save these quotes just in case Guillermo Quiroz is starting when Zito takes the mound Sunday at Coors Field.

Lefty,
I was reading a review and discussion of a new study conducted by a HBS faculty entitled, “Evidence for the Pinocchio Effect: Linguistic Differences Between Lies, Deception by Omissions, and Truths”. He commented, “As it turns out, some people will lie and cheat in business!” Who’da thunk it?

It turns out from a study they conducted that, “Just like Pinocchio’s nose, the number of words grew along with the lie”

“Evidence for the Pinocchio Effect” fills a key gap in the field of deception research, says Van Swol, the study’s lead author. Previous studies have examined the linguistic differences between lies and truthful statements. But this one goes a step further to consider the differences between flat-out lying and so-called deception by omission…”

Posey is the face of the Franchise and SF’s best player now and in the next 5 years. Zito is an overpaid cream puff throwing pitcher who last year improved to average. From 2007 – 2011 with Giants, Zito was a mix of terrible, awful, and jittery. Zito ought to keep his mouth shut criticizing the Giants best player and focus on not giving up 6 runs in the first inning to lose the game error or not.

Thanks for the 2 good games in 2012 playoffs but don’t let the door hit you on the way out Barry this offseason. A lot of other pitchers can throw well at AT&T too where HR balls hit anywhere else are caught on the outfield track. Krukow often says – You’ve been AT&Ted.

Buster is the Catcher period. Zito better learn to work with Buster or get me a replacement for Zito who can happily throw to Buster. And Hector Sanchez wasn’t cutting it offensively. I don’t want caddy catcher.

I think A-L raises a good an interesting point. First, as I’ve said, I believe Zito’s comments about pitch sequence were on him not Buster. That said, why are we all up in arms every time there’s anyone in the org that says something that could be construed as a criticism towards Buster? Do we think that Buster can’t take it? Buster’s the best player on the team, one of the best in the league, and very capable of handling criticism. I’m kind of getting tired of every time Zito or Timmy says something folks try to turn it into some sort of underlying criticism of Buster. For all we know, in the bottom of the sixth inning, Buster could have gone up to Zito and said “sorry for calling two curves in the same location there to Melky, we should have busted a cutter in on the hands.” And Zito might have responded “not on you, I could have shook.” We don’t know. I agree with Kruk, Baggs comments were not only unfounded but irresponsible. And stop worrying about Buster. He can take care of himself.

Last year Zito’s home/road splits were closer than any of the other four starters. This is an anomaly based on a small sample size. I will gladly take bets with anyone on this site that by the end of the season Zito’s home ERA will be higher than 0.55 and his road ERA will be lower than 10.00. Any takers?

I think maybe we’re all sensitive about it because many of us believe that the Hector/Timmy personal catcher deal last year (and even at the beginning of this one) was not in the team’s best interests–for a number of reasons. When a beat writer is suggesting that by Sunday Zito’s going to have a personal catcher who is not Buster, our alarm bells go off.

It’s not just about Buster himself–it’s about an objection to a “personal catcher” model that can harm the team. Other teams and pitchers have them, but here’s the difference: Buster is the best (or one of the two best) hitters in the lineup. If someone else is catching, that either takes Buster’s bat out of the mix or puts Belt on the bench, which hurts the team defensively and offensively. (Belt on most days is a better hitter than whoever the backup catcher is.) On most other teams, there probably isn’t such a huge offensive drop-off between the two catchers.

We all know Buster needs days off from catching. What we don’t want to see is extra days where the lineup is disrupted because of whoever the starting pitcher is.

For example, lets say a RHP’s two seamer has a bit of a tail on it on that particular day, don’t call for the two-seamer on the black to a RHH power hitter. Either call a different pitch, e.g. slider or cutter, in the same location, or change the location to the inside corner if you want to stick to the two-seamer.

Surely I absurdly jest but Baggarly Vandrew WAS once a very good writer.

He cheaped shotted Aubrey Huff when he forced the thong item to go public, wrote about Huffs marital issues when Every OTHER writer deemed it off base and made mention of one of Huffs-pinch-hit-foul balls travelling (only) 45feet.

He reagained some cred when his original TOO Early “Melky is popped” story turned out true. But even AB confessed he led with it without confirmation.

The Jeorpary winnings may have given him some entitlement, could be related to Kawakami, or they went to his head via Dr. Rosenelli.

He’ll NEVER get over that #17 chose Schulman to author the piece about #17’s anxiety.

Zito is summarily On or Off most games. In both instances he has lost when on and won when off. The Giants sometimes provide him with Runs when off, he hangs around, competes, rights his ship and Bochy can hang longer.

Other times he leaves a game down 1-3 runs including shoddy D.

Bottom line is he COMPETES and at his age he’s probably gonna stay a Giant.

When we predict finate results for him, we are usually very wrong imo.

That’s why I used the golf analogy. Do not leave yourself with an impossible shot by missing where you cannot miss. Concisely, Buster, IMO, too often plans for perfection even after the pitcher has shown a particular tendency in the moment.

Oh and on the Barry-Buster teapot tempest. It’s a SHARED responsibility. Look at the context of the quote – he thought he was making his pitches and they were hitting it. I don’t think Barry was calling out Buster per se, he was noting that if you’re making your pitches and they hit it, you have to try to do something different.

I didn’t see the game so can’t comment on whether the pitches are headed for Buster’s glove. Without a doubt the Giants sloppy D behind Barry was at least as important as the pitches. Otherwise how does Barry throw FOUR 2/3 MORE no run innings?. Five out innings can be deadly to a pitcher.

The press’s stock in trade is negative drama. Got all of us all hot and bothered, didn’t it? Move on.

Am I the only one that thinks that Baggs comments about this Sunday are even further evidence that the man should be working for Entertainment Tonight instead of following a MLB team? People, it’s a day game after a twilight game, Zito vs. Francis. Zito and Buster could be blood brothers and the odds are that for that game Buster plays first and Quiroz catches no matter what the circumstances are between the two. Baggs knows this so he’s setting up a situation that is likely to happen anyway as something more than it is or isn’t. That to me is just as bad as his trying to tie Zito’s comments to Buster.

Case in point: Rumor is that Q will catch Vogey tonight. Does this mean that behind the scenes Vogey doesn’t like Buster as his catcher and has been pleading with Bochy to let him switch before his season is lost? I doubt it.

I’d question the scouting report. Once they got out of the inning there was an opportunity to review and adjust. Not saying this is necessarily what happened, but it’s the usual thing that occurs, and the scoreless streak is evidence of that. And, yes, even though Zito should have gotten out of the first with minimal damage, there were still a lot of balls squared up.

Sanchez’s ERA hardly matters. No matter how good the Giants are, they have proven that ex-Giants will eat them up. They seem to have learned nothing from having players on their roster. A sad sack Cabrera and washed up DeRosa pound them as the latest example. I will dread the day they face Sanchez.

The only difference is that neither one of those guys sniffs Sanchez in the head-case department. Truly seemed like every time he took the hill he could be unhittable, walk 7, or both. No consistency to speak of, and that’s tired show.